SHAH ALAM, Sept 21 — The High Court yesterday granted celebrity preacher Da’i Syed, whose real name is Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohd Shaiful, a stay of execution pending his appeal regarding a conviction for raping a woman five years ago.

Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin allowed the application by lawyer Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff who represented Da’i Syed for a stay of execution on his 10-year jail sentence until his appeal was heard and decided at the High Court.

Lawyer Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat who also represented the applicant, when contacted, confirmed the matter and said the hearing of the stay of execution was conducted under Section 311 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court then set Sept 24 for mention of the appeal at the High Court.

Abu Bakar added that while the court granted the application, it imposed several conditions, although the specifics of those conditions were not disclosed.

In yesterday’s proceedings, apart from Abu Bakar and Mohamed Baharudeen, Syed Shah Iqmal was also represented by Datuk Wan Azmir Wan Majid and Muhammad Amin Othman.

On Aug 30, Shah Alam Sessions Court Judge Norazlin Othman sentenced Syed Shah Iqmal to 10 years in prison and three strokes of the cane, dismissing his application for a stay of execution on the grounds that no special circumstances warranted the stay.

The court meted out the punishment on him after he was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman (at the time) in a room in a condominium unit in I-City, Section 7 here, at 1.35 am on Sept 11, 2019.

Syed Shah Iqmal was charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.

On April 10 last year, the Sessions Court discharged and acquitted him, citing the prosecution’s failure to establish a prima facie case at the end of the prosecution case. However, on March 7 this year, the High Court allowed the prosecution’s appeal and ordered Syed Shah Iqmal to enter his defence. — Bernama